my crafty adventures

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About me

Welcome to my blog! My name is Jessica, and I'm a music professor from Kentucky. This blog details my journey into DIY style. I love to sew and knit my own clothes, and I'm a dedicated thrift store shopper! I also love fashion, so I'm attempting to marry my interests without causing myself to go bankrupt. I love bright colors, full skirts, and vintage styles. I love to answer questions, and I can be reached by email at jmills01@gmail.com.

Goodreads

Month: May 2014

Size: I cut a 6 in the bodice, graded to a 10 at the waist. I should have cut at least a size smaller. My measurements are 33-28-39.

Notes:

It’s been a long time since I made a Colette pattern. They haven’t always fit me well, particularly in the back, but I decided to make this one anyway. I made a small bust adjustment of 1/2 inch on the bodice. I did not make any other adjustments to the pattern. I did blend a 6 on top to a 10 in the waist. As it turns out, that was too big, and I should have probably made a 4 and a 8. I’m always worried about things being too small, and inevitably cut a size larger. I took it in at the side seams, but I think it could use another inch at least.

I used a hong kong seam finish on the entire facing, and I finished the hem and armholes with contrasting bias. I made the bias of some random quilting cotton in my stash.

I like the contrast, and the hem band makes the skirt hold its shape. It also looks much neater on the top facing:

I think I’m going to buy an edge stitching foot – that collar stitching is just not as neat as I would prefer.

Conclusion:

I think this is a great pattern. It came together more easily for me than other Colette patterns, and it fits pretty well with only a SBA. I would make a few adjustments if I make it again. I would cut a smaller size, and I would raise the waist by at least an inch. I can’t wear a belt with this dress because the waist is so far below my natural waist. If you are shortwaisted like me, that’s something to watch for. It’s also perhaps a little big in the back – I don’t think I need the back darts to be quite so full. This is a common issue for me with this pattern brand, I had just forgotten about it! I did not make a muslin, because I don’t have the patience right now, but it still turned out well. As always, I’d recommend sewing the side seams last in order to fine tune the fit. That’s saved me on a number of occasions!

The pattern instructions were generally good. There is an error in the printed version of the dress on the collar – you must sew the collar to facing using a 1/4″ seam allowance on the front short edges only. Otherwise it will not line up. I used sew-in interfacing, and while there are a lot of layers at the collar I was able to trim. I used a clapper with lots of steam to get the seams flat, and then at the very end I sewed the collar to the dress at the shoulder seams to prevent rolling. This is not in the instructions, but I would recommend doing this step.

So, overall I recommend this pattern, and I may make the sleeved version come fall!

It wasn’t until I started sewing that I realized how much I missed it. I have difficulty finding balance in my life because I’m pretty much “all or nothing” about most things. But I have to tell you, I don’t want to have another semester like this past one. I was busy, of course, and I like to be busy, but I didn’t have any time at all to do things for myself. I found myself falling into unhealthy habits simply because I was so busy that everything was hard. I didn’t read, I didn’t sew, and I barely had time to make it to the gym once a week.

My goal from this point forward is to make time for myself, and to not allow myself to fall back into my stress habits. I don’t want to feel this way every summer, but I love what I do. Here’s what I plan to do from this point forward:

1. I’m not teaching at home this summer. I usually have private students at home in the summers, but this summer I’m going to focus on only my classes. No one wants to come to piano in July anyway! Come fall, I’m keeping the students I have but not adding more. I’m teaching through our preparatory program now as well, which is less stress because it’s at school and can fit into my normal schedule and not have to run from place to place.

2. I’m keeping my house neater. I have always struggled with neatness. My house was pretty much a disaster growing up, and while I figured out how to be pretty OCD in my own place, I’m not good at being that way while living with someone else. We had a cast party here in April, and I neatened the place considerably. I’ve been keeping it up since then (much easier when you do it over time) and I keep pointing out to my husband how much less stressed I am when things are clean. So far my strategy is working! I need to paint the trim/walls in my bedroom, but I think this may be a time to hire a painter (blasphemy!) because I just don’t want to right now.

3. Make it to the gym more. I’m happier when I get some exercise. We have a gym at school… perhaps I should use that on my lunch break rather than eating unhealthy cafeteria food?

4. Make time to sew and read. These are my primary hobbies, and I did zero of either last semester. I’m not saying I have tons of time, but I need to carve out time – maybe on weekends – to sew every week. I know I can find time to read… I just have to remember to do it.

5. Take time to do something for myself. I’ve been getting Shellac manicures. It keeps me from my bad OCD habit of picking at my cuticles til they bleed, and it makes me feel better to do something for myself. I always thought it was silly, but now I understand why women enjoy going to the salon!

6. Schedule my time more carefully. I am lucky in that I have a lot of control over my schedule. So I need to make sure that I’m making a schedule that works for me, not one that works for every person in the world except me. That’s hard, but I think I can do it.

I love what I do… and I’d like to keep it that way. I know I won’t succeed with everything right away, but I want to try and keep these goals in mind so that I don’t burn out. In the meantime, look for plenty of sewing posts this summer! I’m going to start doing book recommendations again as well, maybe once a month.

Alterations: I lengthened the tank portion only by 2 inches, and I reduced the armhole depth by 2 inches in order to combat stretching.

General Notes:

I always seem to be attracted to the strange tops. Although I am perfectly aware that this looks a little bit like I’m carrying around a spare napkin, I love the style anyway! I’ve been wearing more pants this year, particularly skinny jeans, and because I’m both pear shaped and have a long torso I have a hard time buying tops that are long enough and which fit in both the shoulders and hips. Plus, as I mentioned, I like weird, arty, drapey things, which aren’t always in abundance in stores. I was attracted to this design right away, and I have an abundance of knit fabric, so I knew I had to make it!

Pattern instructions for knits don’t always make sense, as they are often written as though the fabric were woven. This one wasn’t bad, really, although the tank does have darts, and I don’t like darts in a t-shirt. The binding instructions were a little crazy – I opted to edgestitch my binding from the front and then trim it close in the back – you can’t tell, and bindings on knits are a pain.

The pattern piece for the drape is enormous, and I had to cut it on the floor. It was actually rather simple to construct, although the directions had to resort to saying things like “sew as in drawing” when it was hard to explain. All you are doing it creating the top and drape separately, and then binding them together at the armhole and neckline. I didn’t copy the matching symbols because my fabric would not mark, and it worked out fine.

The drape, as you can see, hangs freely:

I had to shorten the armholes by 2 inches due to the weight of all that fabric. The neckline is also rather deep, although I don’t have much cleavage so it works ok for me. Anyone larger would probably want to adjust that. I did lengthen the tank by 2 inches, and I did not hem anything. I do wish that the bottom edge of the tank could be hemmed easily, but this fabric doesn’t take hemming well.

The drape continues onto the back:

As you can see, it tends to hang off to the side. That’s ok, but I don’t think the back view on this pattern is the greatest ever.

I think this is an interesting pattern, and it was simple to make – I recommend it!

So, I guess I’m back! The musical was brilliant, and I’m so very proud of all my students. Next spring I hope to produce another! Now that I’ve done it once, perhaps it will not consume my life. I wouldn’t want to do anything else, and I am so very happy with my career! But now I have a few months off, so I’m back to sewing again. Well, I had to kick my husband out of my sewing room, which he had turned into a LEGO construction room, but never you mind. I decided t0 start back with this pattern, a Lisette dress in a very retro style.

I bought this fabric at Joann’s, and I’m not sure of the content. My guess is rayon/poly/cotton. It does like to fray, but it will hold a press. I have wanted a striped dress for a few years, so I was happy to make this one!

I cut a size a size 12 in the bodice, blending to a 14 in the waist (my measurements are a 28″ waist and 33″ bust, if that helps anyone!) Honestly, the waist is a little big, but I don’t like things that are tight, so I’m happy with it!

I didn’t follow many of the instructions, but I did use the zipper instructions. Honestly, I can’t recommend them if you do view B (with the collar):

(I am very proud of my stripe matching – not perfect on the skirt, but excellent in the bodice!) So, the instructions direct you to interface both the collar and the facing. This results in a lot of bulk. It then asks you to place the edge of the zipper tape at the seamline, and to later fold the tape over the seam line and tack it down. Quite frankly, that’s a lot of bulk, and I would recommend interfacing only the facing, and finishing the zipper with a hook and eye to close.

I decided that I would rather just hand sew the neck together, so my dress lacks the button and loop called for in the pattern.

Sewing this dress made me realize how much I was missing sewing. Hopefully I will be able to make some balance this year, so that I don’t have to disappear again! I would like to thank everyone who emailed me, asking where I was. Although I wasn’t always able to reply, it meant a lot to me that you all remembered! I’m really hoping to be here more consistently now, and to find more balance in my life. Plus, look at all the awesome patterns I missed (planning post coming soon!)